Our work fronts are:

Advocacy

to perform with different levels of government in the State and City of São Paulo, for the definition, optimization and acceleration of actions, projects, and investments that will allow us to achieve our objectives.

Mobilization

the expression of desires and expectations of society is a powerful inducer of government actions, and we work to boost it.

Deepening discussions and collective knowledge on the subject

in the origin of this river´s pollution and degradation, we find sectorial conflicts of interest, corporate visions, as well as significant financial, technical, legal and institutional difficulties. Mapping and clarifying this complex picture is a necessary step to allow the definition of consistent proposals.

Exemplary actions and interventions

it is necessary and possible to develop actions and interventions that, although smaller-scale, will have visibility and provide us with a vision of what such improvements on water quality can bring. These actions should further support the development of collective awareness and knowledge about the river, and thus, bring more advocates to the cause, feeding a virtuous cycle.

The Pinheiros River

The city of São Paulo, with approximately 11 million inhabitants, is Brazil's most important city, not only for its population density, its employment offers, for being the headquarters of multinational companies, but also for its ability to generate wealth, innovation and knowledge.

However, the city has not yet overcome the challenges of a very rapid and socially unbalanced growth, which was not accompanied by needed investments in infrastructure. The legacy of the territory’s predatory occupation is heavily sensed, and the city faces a challenging environmental inheritance.

Some of the most serious problems of the metropolis are linked with drainage conflicts, water scarcity and the poor quality of its water. The excessively paved urban environments generated dry and unfriendly urban environment. The water springs that could supply the city were largely deforested, invaded by illegal settlements, forcing the water supply company to bulk water from remote watersheds to fulfill human and agricultural needs of the region.

The major rivers of the city, which originally presented meanders and serpentine shape, had their landscapes and geography severely changed starting in the 1930s, and the most part of the basin creeks now run underground. Later, the construction of expressways along the rivers has completely isolated them from people´s eyes and lives. Additionally, its waters have been exposed to a twentieth century drama: pollution. The rivers of São Paulo were only remembered when they emanated bad smell, or when there were floods... But, in recent years, the population is increasingly aware and demanding solutions, particularly for the pollution and the unpleasant landscape of larger rivers, such as Pinheiros and Tietê River.

Along the 25 km of the Pinheiros River we find some of the most important companies in the country, and each one of their employees, as well as residents of the region, resent the pollution and degradation of its waters. The Associação Águas Claras do Rio Pinheiros (Association for the Clear Waters of Pinheiros River) was created to join efforts with governments and the society to accelerate investments and programs required for the environmental recovery of its waters and landscape. It is necessary and possible to launch projects and recovery programs, and the Association is precisely proposing that: reconciliation between people and this river.

Associação Águas Claras do Rio Pinheiros

We are a civil society organization, non-profit, made of people and companies interested in the environmental restoration of the Pinheiros River and its watershed.

Our mission is to act, support initiatives and mobilize the population, companies and residents of São Paulo to reverse its degradation and to promote environmental sustainability, improvement in the quality of life, citizenship and a healthy and pleasant contact with Rio Pinheiros.

Challenges

To address the problems of the Pinheiros River,
one must understand the land use on cities
whose territories have direct influence on it,
our needs as a society, and the way we interact
with nature. For the Pinheiros river and its
creeks recovery there are still many challenges
to overcome: